LIVERPOOL FC has finally succeeded in its bid to trademark the Liver Bird.

The club caused uproar two years ago when it emerged it had applied for the rights to the city’s world-famous symbol.

After talks with Liverpool council, the Reds agreed to abandon the bid.

But it has now emerged the council and the football club made a deal whereby they both applied for different trademarks of the famous birds.

The club was granted a trademark by the Trade Marks and Designs Registration Office of the European Union (TMDREU).

The council is seeking its own trademark through the UK’s Intellectual Property Office.

Council officials said the deal would mean the club was free to crack down on counterfeit football merchandise.

But crucially, they said it will mean the council can act as “guardians” of the famous symbol for other businesses and charities which have long used the Liver Birds.

Council leader Joe Anderson said: “When Liverpool FC first raised the issue of registering the Liver Bird logo, it caused a lot of concern that charities and other organisations which used the Liver Bird on their literature and promotional material would be unable to do so in the future.

“The club’s aim is to stop counterfeiters from cashing in by using the badge on pirated goods and they do not want to stop the logo being used legitimately.

“We are happy to help them in these aims and the agreement we reached means the club can protect its Liver Bird logo, other organisations can continue to use the Liver Bird and the council will be able to protect its design of the image.

“The Liver Bird belongs to the people of Liverpool and the council is committed to doing all it can to make sure it remains that way.” The club filed its registration with TMDREU in January and the trademark, covering Europe, was granted in July.

It covers a whole host of materials from clothing to keyrings and is valid until 2020.

Today a spokesman for LFC said: “Our position was always to solely seek to protect our specific version of the Liver Bird to stop its use in counterfeit Liverpool FC merchandise.

“We never intended to challenge the usage by the council or other charity or community groups of their version of the Liver Bird, and were delighted to work with the local authority on this matter.”